Cloth roll mechanism for looms



Aug. 19, 1947. n 'c. P. BERGSTROM ETAL 2,425,781

v CLOTH ROLL MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Sept. 24. 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 9 *1mm-HT 's' z n I. s; l u, l V :l N) I u. .rf-wi N F) W IIII Rini i L?. u, Tim T3 14% i' E T E i ro INvl-:N Tons CARLR BEResTRoM ARGH\BALD JT HERARD, IR.

ATTORNEY Aug. 19, 1947. P.`BERGsTRoM ETAL 2,425,781

CLOTH ROLL MECHANI'SM FR LOOM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INvENToR Filed Sept. 24, 1945 MD Rm TRW Y 6..... E A@un N RIMM. ED .T T. .MWA RH mm Aug. 19, 1947.

c. P. BERGsTRoN rAl.

CLOTH ROLL MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed sept. 2,4, 1945 5 sheets-sheet 3 INvEN-rR CARL P BERG-s'rRoM D) M, E Hm ITO D.T LT @MA H Patented Aug. 19, 1947 CLOTH ROLL MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Carl P. Bergstrom and Archibald J. Herard, Jr., Worcester, Mass., assgnors to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application September 24, 1945, Serial No. 618,136

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in cloth wind-up mechanisms for looms more particularly of the type in which thick fabrics such as terry are woven and it is the general object of the invention to provide a simple and eicient means for supporting the cloth roll and controlling it so that it can be readily and safely removed from the loom.

Cloth rolls on terry looms build up to large diameters and considerable weight due to the thickness i the cloth and it is necessary to use relatively strong spring mechanism to hold the cloth roll in cloth winding up position. This mechanism should be such as will permit the cloth roll to be moved readilyT downwardly from the winding up position when a cut of cloth is to be removed from the roll. Mechanisms heretofore proposed for accomplishing this result have utilized large expensive segments or racks and pinions, and their use has occasionally been attended with accidents due to pinching or crushing of fingers between the rack and the pinion with which it meshes.

It is an important object of our present invention to eliminate the racks and pinions and in their place substitute inexpensive cables or fleXi ble connectors which will be safe to manipulate. The cables cause levers to which they are connected to hold the cloth roll in raised wind-up position, and coil spring means exert forces through the cables for this purpose.

When the cloth roll has accumulated considerable cloth so-me means must .be provided for lowering it a short distance to take it out of driving relation with respect to the take-up roll so that the roll can be removed from the loom. This result we accomplish by using a foot lever connected directly to the levers which are attached to the cables, and associating the foot levers with a ratchet or hook bar engaging a worm wheel which locks the cloth roll in low position after the foot lever has been depressed.

Cloth rol] wind-up mechanisms heretofore employed have used a spring under control of a hand wheel or the like, but the construction has been such that the operator could apply too great a force to the spring when the cloth roll is in high position, with the result that as cloth is wound up on the roll the spring is wound up beyond its lirnit and breaks. 'It is another object of our present invention to provide means by which the wind-up sprin.or can be adjusted independently of the hand wheel but in such manner that excessive winding up cannot occur.

With these and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, our invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a con.. venient embodiment of our invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the lower part of the loom having our invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale` looking in the direction of arrow 2, showing the lay which for reasons of clarity is omitted in Fig. l,

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged vertical sections on lines 3--3 and 4-4, respectively of Fig. 1,

Figs. 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views showing the manner of operating the invention when a full cloth roll is being removed from the loom, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section on line 1 1, Fig. 2.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, we have shown a loom frame I0, lay II reciprocating backwardly and forwardly in the loom, and a shuttle S which passes through the shed formed by the warp W. The fabric F is led forwardly around the breast beam I2 and then downwardly around a cloth guide roll I 3 and thence to the take-up roll I li which may be driven positively in any approved manner, as by the mechanism designated generally at T in the upper right hand part of Fig. 1. The details of this mechanism T are not set forth herein since they are well understood, but the mechanism includes a train provided with a pawl I5 receiving regularly recurring driving impulses and a gear I6 rigid with respect to the take-up roll.

From the take-up roll the cloth is wound around a second guide roll Il and thence rearwardly and over a back guide roll I8, from which it leads to the cloth roll i9. During loom operation the cloth roll is held in raised position against the cloth on the underside of the take-up roll I4 to be rotated frictionally to wind the cloth on roll I9.

The matter thus far described of itself forms no part of our present invention and may be constructed in the usual manner as set forth for instance in patent to Bergstrom and Palmer No. 2,057,409,

In carrying our present invention into effect we provide two cloth roll supporting levers 25 and 2t at the right and left hand sides, respectively, of the loom as shown in Fig. 1. Each lever rocks around a pivot stud 21 iixed with respect to a corresponding xed stand 28. An adjusting slot Z9 in each stand for the associated stud permits vertical adjustment of the axes of the levers.

Each of the levers 25 and 2E is provided with an open upwardly facing pocket 30 which receives a gudgeon 3| at the corresponding end of the cloth roll, and the rear end of each lever is provided with an arcuate guide 32 a part at least of which may conveniently be concentric with the pivot or stud 2l. Trained around the arcuate parts of the supporting levers are right and left cables 33 and 34, respectively, each leading down to its sheave 35 secured to a shaft 35 journaled for rotation in the lower part of the loom. Each cable is wrapped around the greater part of its sheave and is then fastened thereto as at 3l', this condition existing more particularly when the cloth roll is empty and the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2.

Surrounding shaft 3E is a drum it comprising right and left disks 4| and 62, respectively, con nected by a cylindrical shell i3 large enough to inclose a torsion spring M. One end of this spring is extended rearwardly as at d through an opening 46 in the shell and presses downwardly on a small support 4l held in xed position on the bottom cross girt d8 forming part of the loom frame. The other or right end of the spring is bent as at 4S in a direction substantially parallel to shaft 36 and extends into the disk i i. One end of the spring therefore bears against a iixed support while the other end is free to exert the force of the spring against the disk 4i l.

The disk il is provided with a hub 5D formed with clutch teeth 5I which fit similar teeth E2 on a collar 53 having a sliding key connection 5d with shaft 35, see Fig. 7. A small compression spring 55 interposed between sliding collar 53 and the collar 56 pinned to the shaft 3B normally holds the clutch teeth in the engaging position shown in Fig. l so that clockwise directed force of the spring as viewed in Fig, 2 tends to turn shaft 36 in that direction and tension the cables 33 and 3ft for the purpose of holding the cloth roll in its normal driving relation with respect to the cloth on the` take-up roll.

In order that levers 25 and 26 may turn in unison there is provided a second shaft 50 rotatable in bearings 6! secured to the girt d8. Arms 62 are secured to the shaft EEE, one near each end of the latter, and each arm is attached to the lower end of an upright adjustable link or equalizer rod 5d. The rods (ifi extend upwardly and are connected one to lever 25 and the other to lever 2S.

Shaft has secured to the left end thereof as viewed in Fig. l an upright arm 65 having pivoted thereto as at B a forwardly extending ratchet or hooked member El having several teeth or hooks 58 for engagement with a worm 69 secured to a shaft 'l rotatably mounted in a stand "li secured to the loom frame. rThe forward end of shaft 'iii has secured thereto a handle 'd'2 by means of which the worm can be turned either to the right or to the left as viewed in Fig, l. The worm supports the teeth 6B and causes them to move backwardly or forwardly', depending upon the direction of rotationv ofr shaft lil.

A foot lever 'i5 is secured to the shaft 5E and extends forwardly to be accessible to the weaver from the front of the loom. When depressed the foot lever causes shaft Eil to turn in a clockwise directiony as viewed in Fig, 2. It will be apparent, particularly from Fig. 2, that the foot lever l5, the ratchet or multiple hook member Si, the equalizer bars and the levers 25 and 2t, all move together as a unit whenever force is exerted on the foot lever, or through the worm (i9, or through the cables v33 and 34.

In operation, at the beginning of the weaving of a roll of cloth the parts will be in the position shown in Fig. 2 with the cloth roll in high position and the spring under a relatively low tension, which however is sufficient to hold the cloth roll in itsv driving position relatively to the take-up roll. As weaving continues the diameter of the cloth roll increases and the latter descends, thereby exerting upwardly and rearwardly directed `forces on the cables 33 and 3f! with resultant turning of shaft 3G and the toothed collar 52 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. Because of the clutch teeth the disk il will also be moved in this direction and the spring will be placed under additional tension suiiicient to support the increasing weight of the cloth roll. During the progressive downward movement of the cloth roll the equalizer bars 64 will rock the shaft 5G in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 and move the ratchet member 6l forwardly, causing its teeth to slide over the worm 69 while the handle i2 remains at rest.

W hen the cloth roll is full, as indicated in Fig, 5, it will still be possible to move the ratchet forwardly so that its teeth 63 can take a different or new hold on the worm G9. The operator now depresses foot lever l5 the effect of which is to move the parts to the position of Fig. 6, thereby advancing the ratchet and causing it to -be held by the worm with the cloth roll down and out of driving relation with the take-up roll so that the cloth can be removed from the loom. During depression of the foot lever the spring is placed under additional strain, but the holding or locking relation of the worm or ratchet prevents the spring from lifting levers 25 and 25, and the operator will run no risk of accidents from expenditure of the energy stored in the spring,

After the cloth roll has been returned empty to levers 25 and 2t the foot lever will still be down. The operator now turns the hand wheel in such a direction as will permit the ratchet to move rearwardly under action of the spring in order to raise the cloth roll and levers 25 and 25 t0 their highest position preparatory to resumption of weaving.

The ratchet is so proportioned with respect to the worm that when the cloth roll is in high position the operator can continue turning of the handle without releasing further energy stored in the spring. This is due to the fact that the worm will merely turn under the ratchet without being able to cause any further backward movement of it. This feature represents an advantage over previous mechanisms of this general type wherein continued turning of the handle would cause further unwinding of the spring.

It may be desirable from time to time to alter the tension of the spring lid, but since the worm and ratchet are purposely made so the handle cannot be used to vary the initial tension of the spring, we employ the mechanism shown more particularly in Figs. l and '7. The disk 4| and collar 53 are provided with peripheral radial perforations 33 and 8l, respectively, into which appropriate tools, such as a bar, may be inserted for relative turning of the hub with respect to the collar 53. During this adjustment one bar will hold the collar and therefore shaft 35 stationary while the other bar will be moved to turn the disk lll in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 if it is desired to tighten the spring. If, on the other hand, it is desired to reduce the spring tension the disk di will be held by its bar and the collar 53 will be moved toward the collar 56 and then moved the space of one or more of the clutch teeth 52. This adjustment is made when the cloth' roll is in high position for the purpose of causing the spring M to exert J'ust enough force to hold the cloth roll in winding up position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we have provided a simple and inexpensive mechanism for maintaining the cloth roll in driving relation with respect to the take-up roll as cloth accumulates and the levers 25 and 26 rock to lower the cloth rolls, this mechanism including cables, a spring, and a connection between the cables and the cloth roll supporting levers. It will also be seen that the worm 69 serves as a lock to hold the teeth 68 and prevent upward movement of the cloth roll after the latter has been moved downwardly out of driving relation with respect to the take-up roll either by turning of the hand wheel or operation of th'e foot lever. Also, the tension of the spring can be adjusted by relative movement of the clutch teeth 5I and 52 already described. The drum 40 is substantially closed except for a small opening for the straight end of the spring till, and by this construction dust and lint which arises incident to the weaving operation can be kept away from the spring.

Having thus described our invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and we do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what we claim is:

l. In a loom having a take-up roll and a cloth roll, cloth roll supporting levers mounted for movement about a fixed axis, one lever at each end of the roll, means causing said levers to move in unison, each lever having a part thereof concentric With th'e lever axis, resilient means including a spring normally tending to unwind but yieldable to permit winding up thereof, and flexible means operatively connecting said levers and said resilient means, said flexible means wrapped around the concentric parts of the levers and normally transmitting forces from said spring to said levers in a direction tending to move the cloth roll toward the take-up roll, and said flexible means operative when the cloth roll moves away from the take-up roll and rocks said levers to transmit forces from the levers to said spring to wind up the latter.

2. In a loom having a take-up roll and a cloth roll, a pair of cloth roll supporting levers, one for each end of the cloth' roll, means causing said levers to rock in unison, said levers each having a part thereof concentric with the axis around which said levers rock, flexible cable means connected to said levers and positioned to wrap around said concentric parts thereof when the levers rock in a direction corresponding to movement of the cloth roll away from the take-up roll, and resilient means including a torsion spring operatively connected to said flexible means and normally tensioning the latter to move the levers in a direction corresponding to movementof the cloth' roll toward the take-up roll, movement of the cloth roll away from the take-up roll causing said levers t0 tension said cables to exert a force on the spring tending to wind up the same.

3. In a loom having a takeup roll-and a cloth roll, a supporting lever for each end of the cloth roll, said levers movable in unison about a common axis and each lever having a part thereof concentric with said axis, a flexible force transmitter -for each lever having one end thereof connected to the latter and wrapped around the concentric part thereof, and resilient means normally under stress and connected to the other ends of said transmitters and operative by forces exerted through said transmitters to hold the cloth roll yieldingly against the takeup roll, said transmitters effective when the cloth roll moves away from the takeup roll to exert forces on the resilient means placing the latter under increased stress.

CARL P. BERGSTROM.

ARCHIBALD J. HERARD, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 638,937 Owen Dec. 12, 1899 646,614 Wyman Apr. 3, 1900 872,061 Gordon Nov. 26, 1907 2,057,409 Bergstrom Oct. 13, 1936 674,641 Meats May 21, 1901 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 475,641 France Mar. 15, 1915 

